Distance Learning Phase 2

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope you all had a lovely Easter and continue to keep safe and well during this difficult time. Work advice sheets for all classes have been uploaded for this week in the classes section of the school website. These will continue to be uploaded on a weekly basis while the school is closed. Teachers have also added some lessons to the distance learning section of the website also as an extra help to pupils. These are not compulsory but are there to allow children complete extra work unaided. These will remain available on the website should parents wish to use them. It was lovely to see all the lovely work and activities completed by pupils on the school twitter account before Easter. The school twitter account will remain available should pupils wish to share any work or activities as the weeks progress. 

The staff and I have discussed how best we can meet the needs of the pupils as we enter phase 2 of our distance learning. We have decided to use the Seesaw app as a digital platform going forward. This will allow the pupils to upload some samples of their work to their individual teacher in a confidential manner and will allow the teacher to give individual feedback to the pupils confidentially also. We hope to have this up and running for next week. I will email all parents the code they need for their child to access their particular class on Seesaw by Friday. In the meantime you can download the seesaw app to your chosen device. Teachers will continue to upload their weekly worksheet to the classes section on the school website after the Seesaw app has been set up. If a parent does not consent for their child to use the Seesaw app they need to email me on the school email to inform me of this. As we progress with Seesaw over the coming weeks teachers will also use it to upload a lesson/video/ text/link for the class. I am conscious of the pressure that a lot of households are under during this difficult time and would like to stress that the Seesaw app is not compulsory but available to parents primarily as a means of uploading children’s work and receiving feedback from teachers confidentially. As I mentioned above the weekly work advice sheet which contains the core work for all children will continue to be available on the school website each week. Parents should continue to use the school email to direct any queries/questions they may have as is normal practice throughout the year. 

Fr. Couglan and Fr. O’ Connor have been in touch and would like to inform you that the first communion on May 23rd and confirmation on May 20th will not be going ahead. The Archbishop has advised  them ” We can only speak of timetables for these sacraments when it will be possible once again to hold large gatherings of people, especially children and this is unlikely for some months”. Fr Coughlan and Fr. O’ Connor will do everything to facilitate the timetabling of the sacraments whenever it becomes possible again. 

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and support since we closed the school on March 12th. It has been a difficult time for all families and staff operating in a whole new virtual environment in these unprecedented times. However, one thing that I have always noticed since my arrival in Scoil Mhuire is the wonderful community spirit that is present and this has remained steadfast throughout the current school closure. I hope you and your families continue to remain safe and well during the coming weeks. 

Kind Regards,

Ms. O’ Kelly